The invention relates to a programmable hearing aid with functional parts arranged in a housing, such as a microphone, a signal processing unit, an earphone, a power source and a socket with electrical contacts that can be connected to an external programming unit via an insertable plug, whereby via the socket at the housing side a programming circuit of the hearing aid can be supplied with setting data or can exchange data with the external programming unit.
A hearing aid of this type is known from DE 42 33 813, C1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,407. In this known hearing aid, for the programming of the hearing aid programming circuit a programming plug is inserted into the programming socket, the plug being connected to an external programming unit via a programming cable. After the programming process, the programming plug is removed from the hearing aid socket. After the termination of the data transmission, and thus during the use of the hearing aid, an actuating element for the hearing aid can be inserted into the socket.
In the programmable hearing aid known from DE 40 31 132 A1,the programming contacts are optionally used as an audio input. For this purpose, an electronic switch is provided that is controlled by a memory module. The switch is switched on or off by the transmission of specific data signals to the memory module.
Finally, it is known in hearing aids that are on the market to provide contacts at the hearing aid housing for an audio connection, the contacts being capable of being contacted with an audio adapter to which an audio line can be coupled via a Euro plug. For the programming of the known hearing aid, programming contacts are provided at the housing, to which an additional adapter of a programming cable can be plugged, which can in turn be connected to a programming apparatus. In order to be able also to use terminals of the audio input of the hearing aid for the programming, audio terminals and programming terminals are combined at the hearing aid, and a controller is provided that is to be rotated to the "audio" or to the "programming" position, respectively.